Sunday, July 11, 2010

If you're not SLiving under a prim rock, you've probably heard--however in passing--about the Operation Squeegee fundraiser currently taking place to benefit the (U.S.) National Wildlife Federation in its initiative to help clean up the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Dozens of talented Second Life designers have made some of their wares available at Operation Squeegee headquarters with all or part of each sale to be directly donated to OpSquee and the NWF.

Many of the fabulous fashions that are available to purchase in the OpSquee vendor area have received excellent coverage in blogs. I've had trouble, however, finding much written about the homes, decor, and furniture on offer. I don't believe I've ever blogged merchandise specifically to blog merchandise (I used to take and post to Flickr photos of hunt prizes, but that was me being silly with random stuff). I may never do it again, but with four days left in Operation Squeegee (it ends July 15), I figured it wouldn't hurt to give these terrific designers a little extra shout-out.

Especially since I'd bought quite a bit of this stuff during the fundraiser already. :)

Erm, and apologies in advance for speaking in third person at times in this. Just seemed easier that way.

Do I really need this many homes? Mm... don't ask. Do I want them? Yeah, you bet. To the left is the Mardi Gras Bayou House from Thistle. It's only 28 prims, and you can see pretty much all of it from here. It's open in the front and has only the one room, and it would look great in New Toulouse Bayou or someplace similarly swampy and/or eccentric. To the right in the first pic is Grimalkin's 132-prim Acadian house, with several rooms and a usable attic. It comes in a rez box for convenience. I love it, but it's huge and I don't have space for it anywhere right now.

In the foreground is the houseboat from Veritas Designs. It's 53 prims including the unlinked doors. It has two rooms, an open deck in the front, and plenty of space on the roof. I've decorated with the strands of lanterns from Weather! or Not?, copy-ok and 4 prims for each strand.

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Laertes is sitting in one of the 2-prim Clutter folding chairs for L$150 each; they are no-copy, but they come in varnished wood or light wood colors, and you can switch among six colors and twenty sitting poses with each. Lette's "sitting by the sea" on the 8-prim bench from A Netherworld. The bird pooping on the oil sign is 17 prims from Kattastrophe and comes in a wearable version as well.

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Here's the larger of the houseboat's two rooms, with space enough for the Old Joe furniture set from Obsidian Desires and then some. The 12-prim couch seats three with four pose options, while the 10-prim armchair only seats one, but the sitter has twelve poses to choose from. Also included in the same set is the 5-prim planter by the window.

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This piano from Gehenna plays nine tunes from Pirates of the Caribbean; you can sit down and be animated to play it or else click it and let it play on its own (keys are not animated). The chest on top is part of the product, but for 30 prims of space absorption, some might prefer to leave out only the 18-prim piano and the 3-prim bench. On the wall behind Laertes is a photograph by Elsbeth Writer of NT Bayou, one of several available at OpSquee HQ.

Lette is camped out in the back room with Elsa the (6-prim) Sheep from Kattastrophe. Because every houseboat needs a pet sheep. I just decided. The chaise, from Noctis, is 14 prims and contains seven animations, including a reading anim and a book to go with it. There is only room for one avatar at a time. Finally, there is Perpetually Loony's 2-prim art nouveau clock and Noctis's 5-prim leadlight chandelier. The rug in the back room is from the Obsidian Desires set.

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Here is my very favorite item, the "Operation Getaway" structure, 28 prims from Noctis. It's not an airship--it can't be driven or flown--it just hangs where you put it. Living in a sim where people can wander off the street and into your living room, this seemed a good thing to put way up in the sky for the privacy. And I'm wearing the Gloop Avatar (refined version) from Weather! or Not?

So please head on over to the Operation Squeegee headquarters and buy! The fundraiser ends Thursday, July 15.